


Life of the Party

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 01:05:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex goes to a party with Jack, and discovers something he never knew.





	Life of the Party

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in the present day. This is also more hurt/comfort than sickfic.

“Are you excited to finally party with me and my friends?” Jack asked, putting on some cologne.   
“I guess so. I can’t believe that this is the first time I’m going out with all of you,” Alex replied. All Time Low were currently on a bit of a break, and Jack had invited Alex to go to some clubs and bars with him and his friends, since Alex’s wife was busy that evening.  
“Me too. I think you’ll like everyone. They make me feel less lonely so that’s a plus,” Jack joked. Alex faked a laugh in reply. He hated to hear Jack say things like that about himself. When they weren’t doing anything for the band, they all did their own thing for most for the time, unless they had all planned to do something. Zack typically stayed in Hawaii, Rian was busy at his studio in Nashville, and Alex was somewhat bicoastal, but did spend quite a bit of his off time with his wife and her family. That left Jack by himself, his siblings had jobs and lived elsewhere, as did his parents. And, he didn’t have a significant other at this point. He didn’t mind it for the most part, since he spent a lot of time with his friends, but sometimes he would feel a bit lonely. He felt like the rest of his band had their lives in place, and he didn’t. This made him feel a bit insecure, but he mostly kept these feelings to himself. He didn’t want to push away the people he actually had with all of his negativity, so his coping mechanism had become to drink until his mind was numb.  
“Are you ready?” Alex finally asked, checking the time on his phone.  
“Yeah, I arranged for an Uber to pick us up right about now, so let’s head on out,” Jack replied. The two of them walked out of Jack’s place and waited for just a couple of minutes for the Uber to arrive. They got in and told the driver where to take them.   
“So, I think I’ve met someone of your friends, but I don’t think I’ve met all of them,” Alex said.  
“Yeah, you’ve definitely not met everyone, but I think they’re all going to be there tonight. When I told them that you were coming with me tonight, they all wanted to come so they could finally meet the better member of All Time Low,” Jack said, laughing some. Alex gave Jack a small smile, still sad to hear his friend talk about himself like this. Back in their high school days, Alex was fairly insecure, and Jack always helped him through whatever negative patches or thoughts he was having and did his best to assure him that he was great. Alex wanted to do this for Jack now but didn’t exactly know how. The rest of the ride was fairly silent, until the driver told them about a weird person that he had picked up a few days before. When they arrived at the club, they thanked the driver and walked into the club. All of Jack’s friends were already there, and they walked over to the boys. Everyone introduced themselves to Alex, then they all walked over to the bar. They all ordered drinks, and Jack’s friends told Alex a bit about their lives. Eventually, a girl walked over to where their group was, along with a friend.  
“Sorry to bother you, but we’re huge fans of your band, we’ve been listening to you guys since we were in middle school. Could we maybe get a picture with you?” the girl asked Alex, holding her phone with the camera ready.  
“Yeah, of course,” Alex replied, looking over to Jack, who looked a bit hurt to not be recognized.  
“Hey, do you guys want Jack in it, too? I’m sure he’d love to,” Alex said, feeling a bit of tension.  
“Oh yeah, absolutely. We didn’t see him over there,” the girl replied. Jack got up and took the picture with Alex and the fans, trying to mask how he was now feeling.  
“Hey, let’s go over to the bar!” Jack told one of his friends.  
“Should we all go?” Alex suggested.  
“No, you should stay here, for just in case anyone else wants a picture with the more important band member. Don’t want to make yourself too hard to find,” Jack replied, leading his friend over to the bar.   
“It’s not your fault, Alex. He’ll be fine, just try to enjoy yourself while you’re here with us,” Jack’s friend told him.  
“If you say so,” Alex said, not being able to help the uneasy feeling in his gut.  
\---------  
A couple of hours had passed, and Alex hadn’t seen Jack since he left for the bar with one of his friends. He was a bit worried for his friend. He understood why he was upset about the fan from earlier, but he didn’t really think that it was such a big deal. It was pretty dark in the club, she probably just didn’t see him, it wasn’t meant to harm Jack in any way, right? One of Jack’s friends walked over to where Alex was sitting, pulling him from his thoughts.   
“You have to come see this,” she said, leading Alex over to the front of the club. When they got to where the stage was, Alex saw Jack standing on it with one of his friends, dancing to the song that was playing. It was also very clear that he was extremely drunk.  
“Holy shit, how much has he had to drink?” Alex asked.  
“Too much, he’s had like nine or ten mixed drinks, and quite a few beers, according to our friend that he took with him,” she replied.  
“That’s insane. We drink quite a bit after our sets, but usually it’s never that much,” Alex replied.  
“This is actually pretty normal for him when we all go out like this,” his friend continued.  
“Really? I like my drinks, don’t get me wrong, but that’s crazy that he drinks that much. Why don’t you guys try to slow him down?” Alex asked.   
“We have, but there’s no point, he just does it anyway. He says it helps him feel numb for a while,” she explained.  
“Numb from what? Doesn’t he always have a good time with you guys, and with life in general?” Alex asked.  
“Alex, listen. I know Jack is one of your best friends, but there’s some things that he’s not told you, so I’m going to do it. When you guys are on tour, he’s extremely happy, because he’s with you guys, doing something he loves. But, when you all are off, he gets kind of sad,” she explained.   
“He doesn’t enjoy off time?” Alex asked.  
“It’s not that, he gets kind of insecure about his life. Zack has his life in Hawaii, working out and all that. Rian has his studio and some friends in Tennessee. You’re bicoastal and spend most of your free time with your wife and family,” she said.  
“We didn’t mean to make him feel that way, we had no idea,” Alex replied, feeling a bit surprised.  
“I know, and he knows that, too. He told us all of this stuff one night when he got just about as drunk as he is right now. We all think he just feels a bit insecure. It seems like you all have your lives in place, and he doesn’t, at least in his mind. He thinks that if the band broke up, the three of you would be just fine, but he’d be kind of lost,” she explained.   
“Shit, well we all had no clue about any of this,” Alex said, still blown away.  
“That’s how he wanted it, he didn’t want you all to worry and shit. He didn’t even want us to know, but like I said, he was drunk when he did it all, so now we know,” she said. They looked at the stage and could both tell that Jack wasn’t doing too well anymore.  
“I think I’m going to take him back home, it’s kind of late, and I don’t think he should be out anymore tonight,” Alex decided, pulling his phone out to get an Uber.  
“That’s a good idea. We usually just let him stay out for however long he wants, so good on you,” she replied. Jack stumbled off the stage, and his friend helped Jack over to Alex and their friend.  
“Hey man, did you see that shit?” Jack slurred.  
“I did, buddy. Listen, I just got us an Uber, and it’ll be here in a few minutes. Why don’t we go on and wait for it outside?” Alex suggested.  
“Nah man, the night is young!” Jack exclaimed.  
“Jack, you should go with Alex. We have plenty of other nights to party,” Jack’s friend said.  
“She’s right, let’s go outside, man,” Alex gently added.  
“Alright, alright. It’s been a good one, guys,” Jack said, as his friends said goodbye to him. Alex helped his friend out of the club, and their Uber pulled up right as they got outside.  
“We’re going in this one right here, buddy,” Alex said, making sure that Jack got in okay, and put on his seatbelt. Jack stayed silent for the ride, leaning against Alex for most of it. Once they got back to Jack’s place, Alex thanked the driver, then helped his friend inside.  
“You’re home now, man,” Alex said, sitting Jack down on the couch. Suddenly, Jack’s eyes widened.  
“Are you alright?” Alex asked.  
“I don’t feel too great, dude,” Jack said, putting his hand on his stomach.  
“Oh shit,” Alex said to himself, before helping Jack up. He helped his friend run to the bathroom, and they made it just in time for Jack to start getting sick. Alex rubbed his friend’s back until he stopped and leaned up against Alex.  
“That was icky,” Jack slurred.  
“I know, man. You drank a lot, though, so I’m not really surprised. Do you think you’re done?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah, I think so,” Jack replied. Alex helped Jack up, then took him to his bedroom. He started to take off Jack’s outfit, so he could change into something comfier.   
“Hey, what’re you doing down there, silly?” Jack asked, laughing as Alex took his jeans off.  
“Certainly not what you’re thinking I’m doing,” Alex replied, putting a pair of sweatpants on Jack.  
“This is comfy!” Jack exclaimed.  
“I’m glad. Let’s get you in bed,” Alex said, leading Jack over to his bed. He tucked him in and made sure that he was comfortable.  
“Can you stay here with me?” Jack asked, sounding tired and drunk. Alex checked the time on his phone and saw that it was close to one in the morning, and immediately knew that he wouldn’t be going back to his house tonight. He didn’t want to drive since he was a bit intoxicated himself, and he didn’t want to leave Jack alone like this, even if he was kind of used to it at this point. He sent a quick text to his wife, letting her know that he wouldn’t be coming back home that night, and that he had to take care of Jack.  
“Sure thing, man,” Alex finally said, getting in bed next to his friend.  
“I’m sleepy,” Jack said with a yawn.  
“You should go to sleep, then,” Alex suggested.  
“Good point. I love you, man,” Jack slurred, turning around.   
“You too, buddy,” Alex replied. Not much later, the two of them were fast asleep.  
\-------  
Jack woke up the next day to a pounding sensation in his head. He opened his eyes and grimaced at the light. He held his head, and let out a groan, this was going to be a bad hangover.  
“Hey, you’re finally up! Here’s some Advil to hopefully help your head some, and I went out to a McDonald’s and got you a cheeseburger,” Alex said, walking over to Jack with everything.  
“What time is it?” Jack asked, before taking the medicine.   
“It’s about twelve thirty,” Alex replied, sitting down in a chair that he’d brought over to Jack’s bed.  
“Did you stay here last night?” Jack asked, finally putting two and two together.  
“Yeah I did, you were really drunk, and I didn’t want to leave you alone like that,” Alex replied.   
“Oh, well thanks, I guess. I mean, I’m used to feeling this way by myself by now,” Jack said, starting to eat his burger.  
“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about. Jack, I’m really sorry,” Alex started.  
“What do you mean?” Jack followed.  
“I didn’t realize how bad you’ve been feeling, and that makes me feel like a pretty bad friend,” Alex continued.  
“What, no dude, I’m all good,” Jack said, trying to defend himself.  
“Jack, I know what’s going on. Once of your friends told me how you’ve been feeling since we’ve been off tour, and I had no idea about any of that until last night,” Alex said.  
“What did you hear?” Jack asked.  
“Well, she told me that you see me with my wife, Rian with his studio, and Zack with his life in Hawaii, and it makes you feel kind of bad about yourself. She also said that you’ve been drinking a lot, like last night, quite often, so you can feel numb for some time. Is all of that true, man?” Alex asked, looking at Jack in the eyes. Jack took a deep breath.  
“Yeah, it is,” he admitted.  
“I’m so sorry you’ve been feeling that way, I-“ Alex started before getting cut off.  
“You don’t have to apologize. It’s not your fault that you have a great wife with a great family, it’s my fault that I don’t have that. Zack and Rian have lives and things to look forward to outside of touring, and I don’t really have that. I have no family here, I have everyone from last night, but that’s mostly to help me cope with all of this. I love them all, but sometimes it feels like they hang out with me because they feel bad for me or something,” Jack explained.  
“I’m going to make more of an effort to reach out when we’re off, like I should’ve been doing all along,” Alex promised.  
“I don’t want you to have to flip your whole life just for me. You barely get to see your wife,” Jack replied.  
“True, but I don’t have to spend every minute of off time with her. You’re my best friend, and I miss hanging out a bunch like we used to. Hopefully, you miss that, too,” Alex replied.  
“Of course I miss us hanging out. Oh, and I know that it’s bad that I drink so much so often, but it does help me forget about feeling sad and lonely for at least a little while,” Jack admitted.  
“I get that, but you need a different way to cope. I can help you find a better strategy, if you’d want that. I want you to be the happy and energetic person that I met back in eighth grade who didn’t take himself or anything seriously. And, I really am sorry that I didn’t notice all of this before now,” Alex replied.  
“I want to be that person again, too. And, I’m sorry for not telling you, or Rian, or Zack, I just didn’t want to worry anyone or be a burden,” Jack said.  
“You’re absolutely not a burden, Jack. You’re my best friend, and I’m here for you, no matter what. That hasn’t changed since we met in eighth grade, and it never will, I promise,” Alex stated.  
“Thank you for being my best friend, Alex,” Jack said, making both of them smile.  
“Thank you for being mine, Jack. Now, I bet you aren’t feeling up to doing much, since you probably have the worst hangover ever right now, so how about I set up Home Alone on your TV,” Alex suggested.  
“You don’t have somewhere you need to be?” Jack asked.  
“Nope, just here with you. I’ll put it on then lay there next to you, if that’s okay,” Alex said, setting up the movie.   
“I’d like that,” Jack replied. Alex climbed into the bed, and they started the movie. They spent the whole day like this, glad to have one another.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I've had this written for a while, and finally decided to post it! I hope you guys enjoyed this story, and I'm going to try to get up another this week! I started back at school, so I'll do my best! Send me any requests if you have them!  
> Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
